Southern Maryland Audubon Society and Wild Birds Unlimited of La Plata partnered with Keep La Plata Beautiful to build a surprising entry for the town’s Scarecrow Festival and contest.
Left to Right: Kelly Phipps (Town of La Plata), Maureen Mars (Keep La Plata Beautiful), and Tracey Stuller and Lynne Wheeler (both of SMAS) built our Crow Greeter!
Our team celebrates La Plata’s designation as the first Bird City in the state of Maryland! Instead of discouraging birds, our “Crow Greeter” enjoys the birds surrounding it. It even sports a Baltimore Orioles sweatshirt and a pair of binoculars! The “All Birds Welcome” sign tells the tale. Next time you’re wandering through La Plata, check it out in front of the Town Hall.
Between October 7 and 23, please vote for us in the Best Town Spirit category! Vote online at the Scarecrow Festival page at https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sv/pGlO2qA or in various businesses downtown. Winners will be announced by October 27 on the Town of La Plata’s website and Facebook page.
La Plata proclaimed the Purple Martin its town bird in 2020. Look for them in spring and summer near the Purple Martin bird houses by the Train Station Museum and La Plata Mill. Their acrobatic hunt for insects is a joy to watch!
Kudos to our Southern Maryland Audubon Society volunteers Brenda Nairn-Davies and Lynne Wheeler, who braved the late summer heat to hold a fun activity at the Dorchester Community Center in downtown La Plata. On August 26, 2021, they gave an interactive presentation about how native plants help birds and insects. Using a long table of reference pictures, community kids painted rocks and explored the newly created native plant gardens, which were in full splendor.
They even found a Monarch caterpillar on some blooming butterfly weed, where they placed a beautiful rock painted with a Monarch butterfly. The garden itself became the teacher! And, as you can see, these young painters have great talent, too.
Southern Maryland Audubon Society was awarded a grant from Chesapeake Bay Trust to establish the urban native plant garden (completed in spring 2021) and to conduct educational outreach. Many thanks to Chesapeake Bay Trust and our partners at Dorchester Community Center and the Town of La Plata!
After fifteen long months without in-person programs, Southern Maryland Audubon Society held its annual meeting and picnic on July 10, 2021. What a delight to see everyone in person again! This was an extra special gathering because it marked the fifty-year anniversary of the 1971 founding of our Audubon chapter!
Fifty folks joined us at Smallwood State Park, where we recently helped install an Osprey nest cam. (That project was funded by our fantastic supporters at JES Avanti Foundation.) We were especially grateful that former SMAS presidents and longtime board members Carol Ghebelian, Dr. Ernest Willoughby, and Dr. Gwen Brewer joined us.
Representatives for the Town of La Plata also shared in our celebrations: Mayor Jeannine James and town council members David M. Jenkins and James Goldsmith. Chair of the SMAS Conservation Committee, Bob Lukinic, presented them with the Conservationist of the Year Award.
Bob Lukinic presents the Conservationist of the Year Award to Town of La Plata representatives (left to right), Councilman James Goldsmith, Mayor Jeannine James, and (far right) Councilman David M. Jenkins.
The committee recognized their commitment to protecting and enhancing the natural resources of our community. In particular, the Town of La Plata was the first to be named Bird City in the state of Maryland. It has also won funding for an urban tree canopy project and pursued many other conservation initiatives. Congratulations and thank you, La Plata, for all you do for birds and the environment! Mayor James surprised us and presented SMAS with a special commendation for our fifty-year anniversary as well.
Town of La Plata Mayor Jeannine James gives SMAS a special commendation, with President Tiffany Farrell accepting on SMAS’s behalf.
A groovy 1971 playlist and tie-dye clothing helped cap the festivities, along with lovely fresh flowers and a custom celebratory cake. After a very challenging program year, a fantastic time was had by all!
The nest cam at Smallwood State Park captured two tiny hatchlings and a parent!
As of Wednesday morning, May 26, 2021, the Osprey nest cam at Smallwood State Park revealed a second newly hatched chick! Can you tell which one in the photo is the “newborn”? Do you think the third egg will hatch? If so, when?
Keep watching at the YouTube channel to find out what happens with this fascinating family of Osprey, sometimes also called Fish Hawks.
If you see interesting behavior or a “cool pose,” take a screen capture and share it on the Southern Maryland Audubon Society Facebook Group page! We love “family photos”!
Happy Earth Day! Southern Maryland Audubon Society (SMAS) and JES Avanti Foundation are thrilled to announce that we helped our friends at Smallwood State Park purchase an Osprey nest cam!
The cam’s live feed captures real-time action at an Osprey nest on Mattawoman Creek in Marbury, Maryland. As of today’s public launch, the nest is occupied and already has three eggs!
A view of the Osprey and nest from the new Smallwood Park cam.
SMAS board member Elena Gilroy, a park ranger at Smallwood, worked tirelessly with the state and Terrain360, a contractor based in Richmond, Virginia, to bring our concept to fruition. This is the second nest camera SMAS has spearheaded in partnership with other nonprofits and government agencies. The first was the Bald Eagle nest cam at Port Tobacco River Park, a nature area overseen by Charles County Recreation and Parks. Two cams mean that we can view raptor nest activity in Southern Maryland from about December to July.
Please note that these are wild nests. Even though we are as hopeful as you are for a successful nesting season, we do not interfere with their natural cycle, which sometimes may include interactions with predators or natural disasters.
Join us via Zoom or FaceBook Live for an Osprey Festival on Saturday April 24, 2021, 10:00 am to 12:30 pm
Keynote speaker Greg Kearns, park naturalist at Patuxent River Park’s Jug Bay Natural Area, will discuss his 38 years of Osprey research in Ospreys of the Patuxent. Known for his dynamic speaking style, Mr. Kearns will discuss local Osprey and their biology, nest platforms and other efforts to increase Osprey numbers, tracking of Osprey migration, and his public banding program.
Our second speaker will be Reese F Lukei, Jr., volunteer research associate for the Center for Conservation Biology, College of William and Mary. He has banded over 1,000 Osprey since about 1982. Mr. Lukei will talk about the Ospreys of Hampton Roads, Virginia, including their habits, where to look for them, what they eat, and problems they encounter living in our environment. Lukei is also the co-founder of Osprey Watch, and he will share details about this community science project.
During this festival, the SMAS Raptor Conservation Committee will launch Osprey Watch and our partnership with the Center for Conservation Biology. Learn how you can get involved in monitoring Osprey nests in Southern Maryland!
Instead of in-person meetings, SMAS is hosting virtual events using Zoom. We will send invitations via email with a link for joining each online event. If you do not get our Osprey newsletter via email, you need to sign up first. Please scroll to the bottom of this page and submit your email address to subscribe. The SMAS Osprey Festival will also be available though FaceBook Live.
Hope & Chandler bring new sticks to restore their nest each year: “Nestorations!”
by Brenda Nairn-Davies
SQUEE! That’s eagle talk for “excitement” because it’s almost time to open our LIVE CHAT for the Bald Eagle nest cam! Hope and Chandler, our resident pair at Port Tobacco River Park (in Charles County, Maryland), have begun their new nesting season. We can now watch their nestorations and their sharing (or not) breakfish and listen to their discussions through live streaming. (See more video links & eagle vocab below.)
Here’s a rough timeline of activity based on the last three seasons. Tune in when you can! The eagles usually begin bonding in October with productive mating in late January to early February. Egg laying happens around the end of January and the beginning of February. With luck, we will have baby eaglets in mid-March!!! Those nestlings grow from 3 inches to 3 feet tall in just 3 short months. They will wingersize their way to become fledglings at 10 to 14 weeks old, then fledge in mid- to late June. Chandler and Hope have successfully raised two eaglets a year over the past three seasons. Also, for the last two seasons, Hope laid three eggs. We are anxious to see if this happens again and if all three eggs will hatch.
Hope and Chandler hold “discussions” beak to beak!
We are looking forward to another successful season with our Port Tobacco River Park family, but don’t blink! It ‘flies’ by quickly.
Want to chat? We will open up the chat room via YouTube very soon. First sessions will be on Wednesday, January 27 from 9:00 to 11:00 am and from 4:00 pm until sunset. Next chat opportunities will be on Friday, January 29 at the same times. Go to our YouTube live stream for the chat events at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uPI9mWmmc7M.
Remember, the cam at Port Tobacco River Park shows a wild eagle nest in real time. Please know that there are scenarios that some viewers may find difficult to watch. Interactions with other wildlife, sibling rivalry, and weather can impact the eggs and/or eaglets. While we hope for a successful season, anything could happen.
Eagle Cam Vocabulary
Breakfish any meal brought into the nest, often fish!
Discussions beak-to-beak decision making (Hope wins 99% of the time)
Nestorations restoring the nest with new sticks. This activity often leads to “stick wars”— when one eagle places a stick in the nest, the other eagle will move it. (Hope again wins over Chandler)
Nestovers leftovers
Wingersize or Flappersize fledglings pumping up their wings to stregthen for first flight
Southern Maryland Audubon Society is forming a new group for young birders. Our goal is to provide a friendly, welcoming environment for 5th through 12th graders to get together, learn about birds, and build friendships.
Send an email to southernmarylandyouthbirders@gmail.com to join our list. Please include your name and age and describe your birding interest. We will let you know about upcoming activities, which are still in development. In the short term, while Covid-19 cases are increasing, we are planning online events. More info to come!
Monthly meetings of Southern Maryland Audubon Society (SMAS) have moved online!
This week we hosted Chris Eberly, executive director of Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership (MBCP). He told us about MBCP’s Farmland Raptor Program, which aims to increase the populations of Barn Owls and American Kestrels on agricultural lands. Using nest boxes and other strategies, local farmers can help these birds of prey; in turn, the birds help control pests, including mice, grasshoppers, and voles! Check out the recording at https://www.somdaudubon.org/our-work/program-archive/. The goal is to work with property owners to help bring back these struggling species. We will soon have brochures on the Farmland Raptor Program to give to farmers and landowners throughout the state of Maryland. This publication honors former SMAS President Michael Patterson and is printed with donations made in his name.
SMAS virtual meetings are recorded and stored at https://www.somdaudubon.org/our-work/program-archive/. You can watch all the programs from this season, including talks about opossums and Monarch butterflies. To find out about upcoming meetings, sign up for our newsletter at the bottom of this page. We send email invitations with the link to join online meetings using Zoom. The next public meeting is at 7:00 pm on Wednesday, November 4 with Dr. Amanda Gallinat. She will talk about climate change and autumn bird migration patterns. Please join us!
On August 17, 2020, the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership announced a new scholarship to help Black and Latinx students! We are excited because, just as biodiversity strengthens ecosystems, our community and environmental conservation are stronger with greater diversity! Please share this opportunity with birders studying environmental or biological sciences. Using the links below you can learn more AND you can contribute to the scholarship fund! Here are snippets from the press release:
“Annual Scholarship for Black and Latinx Birders of Maryland & DC aims to increase the number of Black birders and Latinx birders studying in the fields of environmental science or the biological sciences. This brand new fund is unlike any other in the Maryland and DC area because it is for birders seeking higher education. (Birders are people who are passionate about bird watching.)
“An independent committee of Maryland and DC birders and bird conservationists was formed with the intention of developing a scholarship fund that would benefit Black and Latinx birders in any year of their undergraduate studies. The committee is now part of the Maryland Bird Conservation Partnership and is actively fundraising to increase the amount of each award. Two scholarships will be awarded each year. Scholarship awards range from a minimum of $2,500 to a maximum of $5,000, depending on funding for the current year. The intent of the committee is to establish this scholarship for decades to come in support of birders studying in the fields of environmental or biological sciences.”
Southern Maryland Audubon Society is thrilled to announce it has donated to this new scholarship fund! Please let your friends and family know that this resource is available for Black and Latinx college students.
